Just a jump to the left

By TOM KEYSER STAFF WRITER

Published 12:00 am, Thursday, October 21, 2010

Thom Dixon, who stars as Frank N. Furter in "The Whip-It Outskirts" production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, poses outside the Palace Theatre marquee as it promos the upcoming showing, a "shadowcast", of the cult classic to be shown on Monday, Oct. 25, in the theatre in Albany, NY. Thom, who plays the sweet transvestite from Transsexual Transylvania, takes a break from dress rehearsal on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010, to promo the show, as an actor in Albany's only live Rocky Horror Troupe. The cast of actors in the troupe, interact with the audience and act out scenes as the movie plays on the big screen. (Luanne M. Ferris / Times Union )

Thom Dixon, who stars as Frank N. Furter in "The Whip-It Outskirts"...

Thom Dixon, at right, in front in cape, who stars as Frank N. Furter, in "The Whip-It Outskirts" production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, poses in the lobby of the Palace Theatre with his fellow cast members. (Luanne M. Ferris / Times Union )

Thom Dixon, at right, in front in cape, who stars as Frank N....

Thom Dixon, at right, in front with the cape, who stars as Frank N. Furter, in "The Whip-It Outskirts" production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, poses in the lobby of the Palace Theatre. (Luanne M. Ferris / Times Union )

Thom Dixon, at right, in front with the cape, who stars as Frank N....

No, Richard Brennan says, you don't have to be eccentric to perform in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" -- but it helps.

He shaved half his head so he looks more like his character. Mary-Louis Pampris got naked the last two times she had a role. (She vows to keep her clothes on -- this time.) And Thom Dixon shopped eBay for a pair of glittery high heels that fit (women's size 13). And man, how they flatter his long legs in fishnets!

"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" isn't just any film. And when you add a troupe performing a "shadowcast" -- mimicking the action on screen in full costume -- you get a night of wild entertainment unmatched at the movies, or anywhere else for that matter.

The Whip-It Outskirts, a recently formed "Rocky Horror" shadowcast troupe in the Capital Region, will perform at 7 p.m. Monday at the Palace Theatre and midnight Friday, Oct. 29, at The Linda. The actors plan to tone it down for the early show. But still, be forewarned, keep your children home.

"No matter how tame you try to make 'Rocky,' it's going to be risque," says Michael Baker, leader of the troupe. "I mean, it's a show about a transvestite alien who makes a monster to have sex with."

It's also a cult classic, a bizarre musical that, 35 years after its release in 1975, is the longest-running theatrical release in film history. It found a home in theaters willing to show it at midnight to crowds that, beginning in 1977, raised "audience participation" to new heights.

They dressed like the characters (even the men in the film wear women's lingerie), screamed lines (often obscene) based on the dialogue, danced "The Time Warp," which begins with "just a jump to the left," and hurled items at the screen. When one of the characters says, "Great Scott," they toss rolls of toilet paper. They throw other things, like toast when a character makes a toast. And when it rains, they squirt water pistols.

It makes you wonder why the Palace, after four years of showing the film around Halloween (it's typical spot on the calendar) as part of its Classic Movie Series, has added a live cast. Since year one, the theater has gotten countless requests for the live show, says Sean Allen, marketing director at the Palace.

"Even without the cast, 'Rocky Horror' is by far the most highly attended movie we show," he says. "It is very messy afterward, but things don't get damaged. It's mostly toilet paper, rice, birdseed and playing cards. But it does take a pretty massive cleanup effort post-show that goes well into the wee hours of the morning."

Baker approached Allen about performing this year, and Allen agreed. About the time Baker started assembling his 20-member cast, his troupe absorbed a smaller shadowcast group in the region, the Double Feature Creatures. The merger produced the Whip-It Outskirts, a name that suits, Baker says, because it's a little dirty but still a little funny.

He works by day for the state as a courier and a couple of nights a week at El Loco Mexican Cafe as a cook. After 15 years of loving "Rocky Horror" the film and 10 years of directing "Rocky Horror" shadowcasts, he's come to realize that there will always be those who don't "get it."

"Oftentimes people think that anybody in 'Rocky Horror' is a pervert or a deviant of some sort," he says. "It comes with the territory. But the reality is that most of us play the roles of Ozzie and Harriet during the day. But when the sun goes down, we break free and don our fishnets and stilettos ... for a night of offbeat entertainment that people can't get anywhere else."

At a recent rehearsal at Valentine's, where the cast has worked at least five hours per week since mid July, Dixon struts around in a T-shirt, shorts and his size-13 high heels purchased on eBay. Dixon isn't his real name. Despite having played Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the self-described "sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania" five times, he has adopted a stage name.

"I work for the state, so I'm performing just two blocks from where I work," he says. "It just makes me feel a little bit more comfortable."

Still, he's come a long way since seeing the movie for the first time. As a favor, he agreed to help a friend who was trying to fill out the cast for a shadow performance several years ago at University at Albany. He says he had no idea what "Rocky Horror" was. He watched the movie and then asked himself: Why in the world did I say yes to that? He kept his word and performed his small role.

"Since that first performance, I was hooked," he says. "I've done other plays. But there's just a different feeling you get being on stage in 'Rocky.' It's the energy, I think, the energy of the crowd and the energy of the cast."

It's the creep factor for Brennan, who shaved half his head to look more like Riff Raff, the strange-looking and acting handyman in the employ of Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

"I love being a creep," says Brennan, who managed the Double Feature Creatures and is assistant director of the Whip-It Outskirts. "I have fun messing with people ... Dressing in scary costumes. ... I just love scaring people. Riff Raff is the character for me."

Yet he is "serious when it comes to his craft," he says. Despite being unemployed, he paid $130 for a pair of Winklepicker shoes, imported from England, because that's what Riff Raff wears.

On the other hand, Pampris can't keep her clothes on at the performance. (She works in a strip club, after all.)

The first time, playing a bride at the beginning of the movie, she took off her wedding gown -- not at all in keeping with the script. The second time, at least, made sense. When her character was turned into a naked statue, she let her pajamas drop to the floor.

"I got a standing ovation for that one," she says.

She pledges not to do that again at the Palace, because it's an early show. As for The Linda, she says, "I'm not sure about that."

This cast of 20 isn't getting paid, and no one's complaining. They hope the troupe makes enough to keep going. They're already booked for bimonthly shows at The Linda.

"Basically," says Baker, the director, "we're doing this for the love of 'Rocky.'"

Tom Keyser can be reached at 454-5448 or by e-mail at tkeyser@timesunion.com.